Feed My Lambs
by Bishop
William K. Weigand
February 16, 2008
A time to get real: our flaws, God’s mercy
In the Gospel for the second Sunday of Lent, we see Jesus transfigured on the mountain, after telling of his impending suffering, death, and resurrection. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in glory, conversing with him. (Mt. 17) The mystery of Jesus is one of both suffering and triumph. This is the path of us who were baptized, also. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up a cross, and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) Jesus, our Savior, unites us and our struggles to himself and his own sufferings. In Lent we more intentionally accept the “cross,” which becomes the springboard for spiritual growth.
Peace and growth are not achieved by trying to bypass suffering and difficulty, but only by entering directly into it. Jesus did not predict an easy future for himself or for us, his followers. Our Lenten disciplines are important, in part, because they help us take “ownership” of our life with its many struggles. We are also graced to turn away from sin as we say “yes” to the harsh/cross aspect of life.
Some form of fasting and penance is but a small harshness or discipline that can help form an attitude and desire to follow Jesus more closely. Fasting triggers a spiritual hunger for God, who alone can satisfy our human hungers. Almsgiving is another discipline that develops in us a spirit of self-giving towards others and towards God. In the discipline of more frequent prayer we express our dependence on a loving God, not to convince God, but to assist ourselves in accepting and living that dependence. Spending prayerful time in God’s presence frees us to respond in ongoing ways to God’s love and action in our lives.
In the Scripture readings of Lent we meet God in his mercy and forgiveness. The Son of God became man to suffer and die for us and then pass on to glory. In our neediness we try to open up to God’s loving presence as Jesus did while in prayer at the transfiguration and in the garden of agony. We strive to grasp that, in Jesus, we are redeemed. In faith and hope we know that God’s loving intervention will continue to form and sanctify us.
In addition, we strive to speak to others about God’s love and about the small signs of the success of God’s love in our lives. People in general know about sin and its effects, about neediness, about wrongdoing. As God’s chosen disciples, we also try to help others understand the good news of God’s overflowing mercy; that we can return again and again to plead for help and get it; that over time God’s grace brings progress.
Lent is a privileged time to receive the Sacrament of Penance (Confession), which was given to us by the Lord as the means par excellence to deeply experience the mercy of God. We all find sin humbling, but Confession forces us to be honest. Society has a thousand ways of explaining away or white washing sin, and we all get infected with this kind of dishonesty. However, staying away from Confession simply deprives us of our deepest experience of God — as unconditional love and mercy. On the contrary, we need to identify sin, get rid of it and allow even the consequences to begin to be healed.
Each time we avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Penance as wayward son or daughter, it is an experience of the prodigal father of the Gospel parable. How very real that scene — and how joyous and liberating the experience! Each Confession is like resurrection from the dead. Our burdens of guilt and shame are lifted. Our spirit can rise to live again. The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation means new Easter life each time we avail ourselves of it.
As the Second Vatican Council taught, each sacrament, including Penance,
gives praise and worship to God. To confess our sins is prayer and worship
of the highest kind. It is the most truthful stance we can take, as we present
ourselves as helpless, sinful, miserable before God. It is a stance of radical
dependence upon the mercy of God. This gives glory to God.
To quote Pope John Paul II: “Conversion to God always consists in discovering
his mercy, that is, in discovering that love which is patient and kind as
only the Creator and Father can be. . . .Conversion to God is always the
fruit of the ‘rediscovery’ of this Father who is rich in mercy.” (no.
13, Dives in Misericordia)
During Lent especially, and in the Sacrament of Penance, we rediscover this loving Father and are graced for further conversion of heart, and for a more loving response to both God and others.
